Major Averages Remain Stuck In The Red In Mid-Day Trading

(RTTNews) - Stocks continue to see moderate weakness in mid-day trading on Tuesday after coming under pressure early in the trading session. Selling pressure has remained somewhat subdued, but the markets have maintained a negative bias.

After turning in some of the best performances in the previous session, energy stocks have shown a significant move back to the downside.

Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index have fallen by 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

The pullback by energy stocks comes amid a notable decrease by the price of crude oil, with crude for September delivery falling $0.80 to $97.49 a barrel.

Gold stocks have also moved to the downside along with the price of the precious metal, although selling pressure has remained relatively subdued.

Currently, the major averages are firmly in negative territory but off their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 61.38 points or 0.4 percent at 16,507.90, the Nasdaq is down 11.74 points or 0.3 percent at 4,372.15 and the S&P 500 is down 7.89 points or 0.4 percent at 1,931.10.